The Guardian called Warm Bodies ‘the zombie novel with a heart’; Audrey Niffenegger said ‘Warm Bodies is an unexpected treat’, and Stephenie Meyer eagerly looked forward to the next book.

Here it is: the prequel to Warm Bodies, released to coincide with the major film adaptation from the producers of Twilight, starring Teresa Palmer and Nicholas Hoult. Julie Grigio drives with her parents through the crumbling wastelands of America – a nightmarish family road trip in search of a new home. A few hundred miles away, Nora Greene finds herself the reluctant, terrified guardian of her younger brother when her parents abandon them in the not-quite-empty ruins of Seattle. In the darkness of a forest, a dead man in a red tie opens his eyes. With no memory of who or what he is, he must unravel the grim mystery of his existence – right after he learns how to think, how to walk, and how to satisfy the monster howling in his belly…Two warped families and a lonely monster. Unknown to any of them, their paths are set to cross in a startling encounter that will change the course of their lives – or deaths – forever

My Thoughts:

Okay, so I love Zombies – The Walking Dead is my addiction and I am devastated that I have to wait so long for Season Five. I had high hopes for this book and I wasn’t disappointed.

This is the prequel to Warm Bodies. It was a great, fresh new take on Zombies and the lives of people within this new society. The novel is split into multiple narratives – I particularly enjoyed Nora’s story, it really stood out for me. I really sympathised with her and wanted her story to be a happy one. I was devastated, and quite surprised by the ending of her battle for survival.

The story provides a new insight into the life of a newly created zombie. It was completely different to what I was expecting and I loved it for this reason. The thoughts and feelings of our unknown ‘monster’ really help to move the story along, I was enthralled by the struggles and changes that this person made throughout.

I will pick up Warm Bodies as I am intrigued to find out what happens next. I’m not sure when I will get round to it as I have got to tackle my huge TBR mountain (see post here).

Have you read this book or Warm Bodies? What did you think? Can you recommend any other good zombie novels?

This novel was an intriguing new take on the zombie phenomena. The multiple narratives help to keep it fresh and exciting, whilst being easy to follow. A good, short read which had blood and gore in all the right places.

“Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house. . . .”

When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous.

But there’s another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.

Celebrating ten years of Neil Gaiman’s first modern classic for young readers, this edition is enriched with a brand-new foreword from the author, a reader’s guide, and more.

My Thoughts:

“Because,’ she said, ‘when you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave.”

I have wanted to read this book for a long time after watching and loving the creepy film adaptation. I finally picked it up from the school library and decided to give it a go. I enjoyed it but not as much as the film version.

This book was certainly creepy, eerie and fantastical in equal measures. At times it left me a little confused but nevertheless the attention to detail was superb. There was plenty of description and vivid imagery, I can certainly see how the atmosphere converted across to film. The story is weird and wonderful, a perfect ‘immerse yourself in the world’ book. It is a very short read, but certainly doesn’t lack in plot.

Coraline is a great female child protagonist – she is independent, strong, quirky and brave. Her adventurous side means that she will explore regardless of fear. Neil Gaiman has a talent for writing children’s stories that non-condescending and perfect for adults too – if you haven’t read The Graveyard Book then read it now. He is not afraid of making children’s books scary – which he certainly does here, creating a creepy and surreal world which has a dream-like quality.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t a five star read for me, but came very close.

A quick, easy read full of humour, suspense and creepy other-worldly beings. A great female protagonist who shows that girls can be brave and inquisitive explorers too! Another smashing read from Neil Gaiman…..now which of his to read next?

Okay, so I have been MIA again – apologies! Things are pretty crazy around here, work is nearly over for the Summer but with that brings parents evenings, summer productions – this year is Grease!, training days, assessments and exams, sports days, activity days, trips and a whole load of busy! Once the summer holidays begin I am determined to read more and post here more too! I have a few reviews to catch up on.

So, after finding out that we are expecting an addition to the family in November my husband and I decided to talk nursery. To cut a very long story short, he hacked my IKEA bookshelf to create a small storage/wardrobe for our little one – meaning that I had to sort through my collection of books. We need to make more space in our little home so unfortunately some of the books are going to be moving on….I have a box for donation to the school library, a box for charity/sale and a box to keep/current TBR. There is still a hell of a lot of books that I need to read….how to tackle this TBR mountain? Any ideas?

Also, what do you do with your loved but unwanted/why did I buy this?/never going to read again books?
Do you donate them? Sell them at a car boot sale? I am keen to hear your ideas!

Stacking the Shelves is a meme held over at Tyngna’s Reviews. It is all about sharing the books on your shelves, physical or virtual. A great way to share books that you have purchased online, in bookstores, borrowed from the library, received for review or purchased as e-books.

Inspired by Pop Culture Junkie and the Story Siren, the aim of Showcase Sunday is to highlight our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders each week.

I actually only have 4 books to share this week. The physical books were from Waterstones, after an awful experience in WHSmiths – when picking up two books on the buy one get one for a £1 deal and ringing them through the till, I was politely told that they weren’t in the deal despite being on the shelf with all the others. I was supposed to look for author names or something along those lines – it was very confusing and the sales assistant wasn’t particularly helpful so I wandered over to Waterstones, where the service is always good.

Physical Books:

Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge

(Started this today, about 40 pages in and fantastic so far! Action and pace already building!)

Both of these books were Book of the Week on iTunes meaning I snagged them completely free.

Anna & The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Glass Houses (#1 in the Morganville Vampire Series) by Rachel Caine

Have you read any of these? Do any interest you? Are there any that I should bump up to the top of my list of to-be-read? I’m really looking forward to getting round to all of them! What have you purchased/borrowed/downloaded this week?